I have moved!!

Hello and thank you for visiting my blog! I have recently moved it to a new bigger, fancier, better location where you can still find all the same brilliant content, but with even more information added, and easier to find search and categorisation facilities.

Please visit http://blog.ryding2health.co.uk

Thanks and see you soon.

Melanie

#10FactsAboutMe

I saw this trending on twitter this morning and I thought I would join in. :)
These are just facts that popped into my head, no planning, no order, just random!

ACL reconstruction: 13 years on

BACKGROUND

September 2008. Kettering rugby club. I am playing in the lock position. I had complained to the coach a few times that my fellow lock kept collapsing - bad technique - and was concerned that someone was going to get injured. I was ignored. She was his daughter.

Don't be under any illusion here - I was very new to this, built like a lock, but not through strength. I was unfit and overweight and this was the first game of my second season trying to play rugby.

Mens Olympic marathon: the Gamesmaker's view

It is the last day. I feel a little bit sad; but happy too because I can go back home to the midlands, relax, see my husband for more than a few hours, and NOT get up at 3am!

Mens Olympic Triathlon: the Gamesmaker's view

The men’s triathlon started a lot later in the morning, but no, this did not mean a lie in, as the gamesmakers had to be in place at the same time of day, sue to a scheduled course recce for the elite men prior to their race.

Womens Olympic Marathon: the Gamesmaker’s view

I have up till now, arrived at the tube station before the driver and before the newspaper, but today, my shift started so early that I was there before the station was even open! Yep, the glorious night busses. Again.

Women's Olympic Triathlon; The Gamesmaker's view

A 5:30am start in Hyde Park meant that this was going to be the earliest start of the games so far. 3am alarm, and it seemed like the middle of the night... What am I talking about, it IS the middle of the night!

Women's Olympic Tri: who will take Gold?

It's the eve of the triathlon, and the pressure is on. Historically there has not been a race favourite that has ever won the gold in The Olympic triathlon since it joined the Olympic Games in Sydney, 2000. Britain has two.

Helen Jenkins has the spotlight on her tomorrow as she aims to make history by converting her race favourite status into Olympic Gold. That would make the quietly spoken Welsh born athlete Jenkins both World and Olympic champion.

Cyclist killed in Olympic Park: BBC Northampton interview

Following the bus accident which killed a cyclist in the Olympic Park on 1 August, 2012, I was asked to be on the BBC Northampton Breakfast show to talk about cycle safety, and helmet law.

This is something I have spoke about many times before, and I still feel very strongly that the cycle lawys shoudl be addressed.

Olympics Cycle Time Trial: the Gamesmaker's view

This was the only shift I had that was not in central London, I was not looking forward to the drive to Esher, the 40 mile stretch of the M25 Car Park, or the queues to get through the road closure.
With a 9am start time, I decided to try and miss the majority of the traffic and leave at 5:30am, hopefully getting me there by around 7:30-8am. Nope, it didn't quite work out as I had hoped, and I still got stuck in nose to tail stationery traffic at around the M4 / Heathrow exit.

Monday Night Sport: BBC radio Northampton interview

Monday Night Sport: BBC radio Northampton with Geoff Doyle and Laura Cook

I was invited to the studios in Northampton to be on the show, all Olympic theme, due to the fact that I am a Games Maker, and because I recently found out that I got onto the GB team for the world championships for a fourth consecutive year.

If anyone says that men cannot multi task, then they should visit a studio and see what a radio show presenter has to contend with.

Olympic Road Race; the Gamesmaker's view

Two long days ahead - with very early starts but who's complaining, this is the Olympics!!!

With great excitement I donned my uniform I set out from my friends house to Uxbridge tube station to travel to my first Olympics shift on Saturday 27th July. Dawn was just breaking, and from a house just down the road out came another gamesmaker, well, who else would be about at 4:30am on a saturday?! Londoners dot talk to strangers though, right? Wrong! Rob and I had a great chat on the way to the station, he was heading to Lords for the archery, lucky enough to be working on the Olympics all of week 1, And the proud owner of stadium tickets for week 2!

Blood sweat and gears: the day I almost quit

It's been a hard year, I suppose you have guessed that already. In fact, it was only today, when a friend congratulated me on gaining a spot on the GB team for my fourth world championships that she also reminded me how well I had done, considering I lost a whole season to the head injury last year.